Toolkit
Stuff I Love
My Favorite Blush & Bronzer, Jones Road
I have two different shades of Jones Road’s Bronzer.
Tan = my go-to bronzer
Dusty Rose = my go-to blush
Yes, you’re reading that right. I use a bronzer as a blush, but to quote Bobbi Brown herself (the founder of Jones Road):
I love using Dusty Rose as a blush. Apply to the apples of your cheeks for a warm rosy glow.
I’m so glad she took her advice, because even though it’s technically a bronzer, it’s truly is the most perfect and flattering blush color I’ve ever found for my complexion. I used to be pretty fickle when it came to makeup, always looking for another better thing, but I’ve “hit pan” on the Dusty Rose bronzer as my blush probably 5x now, and I don’t have any plans to stop using it.
I don’t know how to describe how perfect it is other than to say it makes my face look healthy, gives my square/boxy face shape some dimension, but without ever looking silly, clownish, or overly girly. I’ve tried a few shades of actual Jones Road blush, but always come back to using the Dusty Rose bronzer shade.
I love the Tan shade as a a true bronzer almost as much, especially in summer when I lean into the more “golden” look. It’s matte, so works great as a subtle contour, but can also be used all over to give a really nice and natural warmth.
For reference, my skin-tone is in the “light-medium” category.
(I know cream blushes and bronzers are supposed to be more flattering on skin of a certain age, and I’ve tried several, but nothing makes me feel prettier than these high quality powder products.)
Extra Glow Serum, Merit
While this is technically a serum, and works just fine as such, I Merit’s Great Skin serum more as a primer. I apply two pumps every morning (maybe 1 on the swampiest days of summer) immediately prior to my moisturizer and my beloved The Minimalist stick.
If I skip this step, my makeup doesn’t go on nicely, and it also helps give my skin a healthy glow without looking shiny.
I’ve always been pretty fickle with makeup and skincare, but I’ve been through many bottles of this one.
The Minimalist, Foundation by Merit
I am not one of those women who “loves to go bare-faced.”
I think I look better with foundation, therefore I feel better with foundation. But as I entered my 40s, all my old go-to liquid foundations seemed to age me, and yes, even the dewy “age perfecting” ones.
I tried switching to lighter products like BB creams and tinted moisturizers and Jones Road WTF foundation. None gave me the coverage I wanted. I’ve always had a lot of red in my skin, and I need actual coverage to even things out, not just some sort of dewy veil.
Meet: Merit’s “The Minimalist” … it’s perfect for my skin needs right now. I have no idea how this little stick can somehow completely cover up my redness and not look like I’m wearing anything, but it does. I suspect witchcraft, and I support it.
Most days I’ll just apply it where I need it most (chin and nose), but on events where I want a more “flawless face” look, I’ve used it as all over foundation and it works well for that as well. It gives me a totally even complexion, but no “mask” look.
My color is Bisque. nless I’ve added self-tanner to my routine; then it’s Sand. I would say the shades definitely run on the warm side relative to other foundations. I’m often Warm in other foundation brands, but I stick with the neutral range here. Merit’s warm shades are very yellow on me; almost orange.
A word of warning
If you have dry or even normal skin, you’ll want to put this on immediately following moisturizer or use a primer.
The first time I used The Minimalist I ate hated it; it dragged on top of my dry skin and looked almost powdery.
In fact, I actually set out to return it! Merit customer service was amazing. Gave me a full refund, but told me to keep it or give it to a friend. A few weeks later, I decided on a whim to try it over top of a serum/primer, and it was like a completely different product. I’ve been a convert ever since, but heads up if your skin is dry you’ll want to put this on immediately after lotion or primer, before it’s had a chance to “dry down.”